Riding three of the same bikes with the same equipment has given us some unique insight into aerodynamics and fuel economy. Ty's bike has been running out of fuel consistently at the 180lm mark, with Gary and I having nearly half a tank still available. Running out of fuel is not a problem per se as we carry nearly six litres between us, but it is interesting that one bike performs so poorly. This is also evident in the bike rolling and wallowing in corners, whilst the other two bikes are travellign through smoothly.
Further examination has shown that Ty's bike has considerably more luggage 'in-the-wind' and he is also carrying an additional 20kg of stuff. The stuff was the problem, and had to go. Ty spent a few hours sacrificing gear to various grateful locals as he sought to shed weight from the bke. Even after this exercise there was still a 10kg sack of doom that was posted home.
This activity has reinforced a belief of mine that luggage ruins an otherwise fine holiday. We have now travelled in dozens of countries for extended period with nothing more than a tank bag for our worldly possessions. This time, we have aluminium panniers available on the bikes so what have we done? We have found 'essential' stuff to fill them to capacity. The result of this is being able to cater to almost any situation - but who the hell wants that. Much of the joy in this type of travel is finding innovative solutions to travel's little challenges and interacting with loal people as much as possible. We have all agreed that the next leg of this jouney will see us travelling with largely empty pannuiers.
Arriving in Krabi at dusk is a lovely experience. This quiet little town sits on a steep hillside and caters to a flashpacker brigade, basically people who used to have a backpacker mindset but are now a few years older and prefer some more creature comforts.
The three of us shared a delightful meal with a Swedish anthropologist who has been living on an island off Krabi for the past twelve months whilst completing a PhD studying the impact of the tsunami on the sea-gypsy communities. This lady clearly had a real passion for the community and was not looking forward to Sweden to resume her old life. This is entirely understandable, as Krabi and surrounds are an idyllic location and it would be very easy to call them home.
